Journals for reading (15-31 January 1959) addressed to Mr. Magès at the B.E.A.

In this document

This is an internal survey from the B.E.A. (Automotive Design Office) at Citroën, intended for Mr. Magès, listing technical journal articles circulated from 15 to 31 January 1959 p. 41. The header specifies "Number of Pages: 2" — only the first page is transcribed here.

Journals and subjects listed

The document covers a wide range of titles and themes, from civil engineering to automotive transport:

p. 41

Handwritten annotations

The page bears the handwritten mention "Mr. Magès" with initials, as well as "v"-shaped checkmarks in the left margin, notably next to "Le Génie Civil" and "Bugatti" p. 41. A wavy blue pencil line highlights "Study Programs (Picard)" and "Le Mans 59 energy classification formula", and an ink line underlines "Rowe 6-cylinder Diesel 6-wheel chassis" p. 41. A stamp or handwritten text at the top right remains illegible.

The administrative table "Valid for / Name, Date, Visa" appearing at the bottom of the page is entirely empty p. 41.

Context

At Citroën, this type of technical journal circulation sheet allowed engineers to follow the latest developments in the profession — mechanics, materials, competing patents — without having to go through every publication themselves. In January 1959, Paul Magès was working on the hydropneumatic suspension and the hydraulic components of the DS, which makes his interest in foreign patent articles on suspensions or transmissions (such as the one on the GM "Air suspension" cited p. 41) plausible, even if the document does not specify any actual reading of this article.

Archivist's perspective

This document is not a technical piece in itself, but a witness to Magès's documentary daily life at the B.E.A.: it shows how the engineer kept himself informed, through organized monitoring, of innovations and patents published abroad.

The handwritten checkmarks suggest selective rather than exhaustive reading; it seems that Magès paid particular attention to the marked articles p. 41, without it being possible to confirm which ones he actually studied in depth.

This survey is part of the same "Hydraulic components" file as much more technical pieces of his work, such as the Plan of the DS high-pressure pump no. E 401.8444 or the Flow curves of the DS HP pump, dating from the same period (November 1958) — which confirms that this documentary monitoring accompanied active work on the DS high-pressure pumps.